Warren Gatland came into this game knowing he needed to prevent England from kicking his side to defeat. To do this, he came up with some genius ways to stack the backfield and unsettle the English kickers and chasers. We have already covered how Liam Williams positioning helped overcome England’s kicking. In this article, we will look at the Wales v England tactics from the perspective of his coach.

This is how Warren Gatland used unique backfield tactics to give Wales the edge and extend their winning streak.

The dual fullback system | Wales v England tactics

England thrived against Ireland and France when they could bounce the ball into the backfield, and then bring the white wall up to cut off all exits for the unlucky player who got to the ball. Gatland hedged against this by playing an extra player in the backfield. Let’s look at the positioning of Wales below.

Both Williams and Anscombe are back

Wales are basically playing two fullbacks, betting that England won’t try and run the ball from their own half (a pretty safe bet). Here Williams takes the ball and Anscombe comes across to cover fullback.

Williams takes the ball, but Anscombe is still in the fullback position

When Biggar (blue circle) comes on he plays the exact same role. He is now in the second fullback position below.

Biggar now fills the second fullback position

Wales use their two fullbacks to get the ball out to the opposite sideline as fast as possible. Unfortunately, Alun Wyn Jones makes a mistake and possession is lost in this case. A very rare occurrence.

Wales use their two fullbacks to spread the ball

Aside from playing two fullbacks, Wales also switched their wingers around once the teams took the field. Let’s investigate why Gatland would do this.

The winger switch | Wales v England tactics

The reason for putting North on the left wing and Adams on the right wing becomes evident when you see the following clip.

North taps the ball back

North is taller than his new opposite Nowell, and can potentially win more aerial battles on this side. On the other side, Adams is now up against Jonny May. He takes a great catch under pressure in the below clip.

Adams does well in his switched position

The point of all this is also to unsettle the English defenders. They would have been preparing for one picture, but when they take the field they are faced with a different one. A very smart and subtle move from Gatland.

The last way Wales defended kicks wasn’t in the backfield. They instead tried to prevent England from kicking in the first place.

Targeting Owen Farrell | Wales v England tactics

Wales had their 10 defending in the backfield, meaning Owen Farrell was technically left unmarked. Gatland adjusted for this by using his no. 9 Davies to target Farrell throughout the game, especially disrupting his kicks. Let’s see if it worked.

Below a 22 dropout occurs and we can see Davies ready to charge straight at Farrell at full tilt. Wilson runs a line to block him.

Davies charges at Farrell

As Farrell gets the kick away we can clearly see Alun Wyn Jones messing with Sinkler, a player Gatland called a ‘ticking time bomb’ prior to the game. This obviously isn’t necessary to stop the kick but is interesting to see none the less.

Farrell gets the kick away as Alun Wyn Jones provokes Sinkler

We have already discussed how the brilliant positioning of Liam Williams neutralised many of England’s kicks. You can read about that below.

2 COMMENTS

After the autumn I felt happy our backline would be ok. Josh Adams handling Falou for example and having a Lions fullback.
Out forward pack handled South Africa twice this year, so I was happy there too.

Only thing I was concerned about was the mental attitude, but after seeing Wales claw back a game against France, I was happy there too.

The next phase was nullifying what England do OR focusing on our own game.
With a team like England you can’t do that, so I’m delighted Gatland and co got a happy marriage between nullifying England and also playing out own game.

I also think we targeted the same points of the pitch with the luck and go. Squidge Rugby picked up on this too and then in the second half England seemed to wilt away.
I need to watch it again as some are saying Wales played the same both halves. It’s just England tired.